The first three months

This newsletter is already three months old and I'm loving every minute of it.

In the first three months, I’ve published some of my most rewarding work and I’m hopeful for what’s still to come.

I haven’t published a single story behind a paywall, but that will likely change soon.

Before I recap the posts I’ve published so far that I’m most proud of, or what you all have read the most I want to dole out a few thank yous.

First off, to everyone who has subscribed either free or paid, you’re the best. It means the world to me you are willing to support my work where it’s just me requesting records, reporting, writing and editing all by myself. Every single subscription email I receive gives me the best boost of serotonin Twitter could only dream of.

I want to thank my friends and colleagues at the Arizona Agenda for providing such an amazing roadmap on how to navigate Substack in Arizona. I owe a lot of my career to Hank¹ and Rachel either directly or indirectly and I’m glad I can learn from their great example.

Finally, I want to thank the 20 people who have paid for a founding subscription without anything behind a paywall to this point. While this newsletter isn’t bringing in a ton of money yet, every dollar I’ve received so far means a lot.

I’m still trying to figure out how to grow this, but even without a steady salary I can confidently say I never want to go back to a corporate newsroom.

Paywall incoming; prices will go up

As of now, I am aiming to start putting occasional stories behind a paywall starting in January. That could change, but I would have to receive a lot more subscriptions by then –– paid or free.

Hell, let’s say if I can get 100 more people to subscribe (with at least 20 paid) I will extend my deadline for a paywall. So please share this with a friend or family member or on social media and help me get more readers. I have so many more records to publish and still waiting to receive that I will never run out of material. Let’s keep this thing going!

Prices right now are at $5/month and $50/year (founding is $150, but you can also pay whatever you want above $50 for a founding membership). Starting in January, these numbers will increase to $7/month and $75/year. If you pay for a subscription before January 10, your price will be locked in at whatever you pay for.

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Now for a quick recap of some stories I’ve broken in the first three months.

• I received the most traction from my story about State Rep. Mark Finchem, who just lost his bid for secretary of state, voting by mail in 28 of 30 elections despite saying he does not care for voting by mail. It got picked up nationally, and Twitter practically blew up.

Dillon Rosenblatt @DillonReedRose

Mark Finchem, the GOP nominee for Arizona Secretary of State, in the @arizonapbs debate: "I don’t care for mail-in voting. That’s why I go to the polls." Turns out, he cares so little for mail-in voting he's chosen to vote that way for 28 of 30 elections.

fourthestate48.substack.comMark Finchem’s voter file shows he votes by mailDuring his Arizona PBS debate for Secretary of State, the Republican nominee Mark Finchem said he always goes to the polls to vote. He lied.

• Likewise with my story about Kari Lake and her history of voting by mail. It didn’t get as much attention as Finchem’s, but you all were very intrigued by my voter file stories. (More to come!)

Vaughn Hillyard @VaughnHillyard

.@DillonReedRose first reported that Lake used a mail ballot in her GOP primary & voted by mail in 26 of last 28 elex she participated in. Lake's voter file shows she requested to be on the mail ballot list Dec 2021. Lake now says she'll vote in person.

fourthestate48.substack.comHobbs and Lake love voting by mailI look into the voter registration files of Dem candidate and Secretary of State Katie Hobbs and GOP nominee and former newsreader Kari Lake

• Outside of my inaugural post about outgoing Gov. Doug Ducey’s office slow walking records requests,² the post that generated the most subscriptions was about the universal school voucher expansion broken down into zip codes and median household income.

Dillon Rosenblatt @DillonReedRose

I took a look at the zip code data of 12,100 applicants under the universal ESA expansion in Arizona (through Sept 27) and compared them to the median household income of each area. Here's what I noticed and I also made a map:

fourthestate48.substack.comWealthy Arizonans love ESAsLet’s take a look at the zip code data for median household income of those who have applied for ESAs under the universal expansion

• I did a follow up of that story too with updated numbers through Oct. 15.

• I covered a lot of public officials’ calendars (David Shinn’s was the most popular story) and badge swipes into buildings.

  • Phoenix City Councilman Sal DiCiccio, statewide officials, Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer

• I wrote about a behind the scenes situation on how KTAR’s Mike Broomhead became the moderator of a conversation with Kari Lake after the Clean Elections debate fiasco, how Abraham Hamadeh greatly exaggerated his legal experience during his campaign for attorney general, earned some laughs with the names people suggested for Arizona’s newest snowplows, and discovered a state law that allows some agencies to withhold public records without providing explanation that hopefully will change.

Overall, I’m pleased to say I haven’t published anything I’m not proud of and I can’t wait to continue for as long as I’m able to.

What you can expect to see next

I have a long backlog of records I’m still waiting on and more ideas of what to request next, but soon you can see water usage info in Phoenix, more calendars, details about a rightwing provocateur’s legal issues in Arizona, and a story I’ve been working on for years.

1. Hank actually is responsible for helping me decide to only focus on public records rather than a hodgepodge of accountability coverage.

2. I have not received a single record back from Ducey’s office in three months. Here’s to hoping Governor-elect Katie Hobbs will work to improve on the severe lack of transparency that currently exists on the Ninth Floor.